Excerpt: Coates and Yyone Alloy (Revisited)

Ten years or so. Probably longer. The initial concept was rough, unplanned and the world Aaran lived in far from alive. I borrowed ours. Going back with a patch job to draw the story in was a disservice to the inspiration I received. Thanks to a few choice words, I followed a logical process of not being precious about my ideas. Here’s a sample of the updated story:

I had ten minutes to think. Engagement? Un tyusn! Yale was surprisingly forward. CDI Patsy Milne wanted an answer: Was I going to dissolve my agency after the near vaporization of my partner? Kresten was bowing out, and not gracefully.

Milne was glaring again, too, which meant she didn’t want to wait for me to decide. I glared back, fiddling with the white-gold ring on my thumb. A little bit of recent impact damage to my left hand meant it was the only comfortable digit available, since I wanted to feel it being there.

“I need more time, Milne,” I said, feeling pretty useless without something else to substantiate my request. I expected to be sealed up in a cell.

She occupied my place on the board, this round: buy topamax Confrontational and unsympathetic. Maybe she could have noticed the ring and pretended to care, but the pictures laid out on her desk evidenced to me she had zero inclination toward doing so. Then she sighed. “That’s not you. Not an android, not a Drima? I have a little feeling about it, just a little one, Vanadyl.”

Just a look at her and I knew she held my world in her palm. Was I negligent? A braintorn fool? A reckless wildcare? Shards it’s hard to read her expression; so calm and determined. Too like myself.

I prevented myself from crumpling the expensive print out she told me I should keep for reference. Reference. My face, my cheekbones, my half-lidded arrogance in half plate armor with a figure exaggerated just a little. ‘A little feeling.’ Hah. I heaved a soundless chuckle at her words, then asked her what that it was.

“Amile Kresten was always on the edge of bowing out. This is an excuse for him to run, and maybe take some credibility with him, but I didn’t tell you that. He is a felor of convenience.”